Broken Glass
by Ayume Matsumoto
Summary: As the moon began to appear between the clouds, Remus curled up into a ball, willing the morning to come quickly.
1. Part One

Dawn was breaking over the frosty hills of Scotland and as the sun took its place among the scattered clouds light began to fill up the valley in which the Hogwarts castle nestled so inconspicuously. As the rays of sunlight skimmed over the giant lake, the surface rippled as the Giant Squid breached the water to bask in the morning light. His quiet moment with the sun however was disturbed as two young wizards came thundering down the hillside.

"Did you see the look on his face?!" The faster one jeered, calling over his shoulder to the other.

With a cool 'plop', the Giant Squid sank back under the surface of the water. School had only begun two weeks ago, yet he already missed the student-free summer holidays when he could spend all day floating on the surface.

Sprinting around the edge of the lake, the two boys dived into the edge of the large forest which spread out among the side of the valley.

"When did you get that fast, James?!" The slower boy came to an abrupt stop and let himself fall backwards against a tree. Running a hand through his hair, he let the hood of his cloak fall around his shoulders, revealing waves of dark hair. Catching his breath, he looked up at the lanky stature of his friend and fixed his dark brown eyes on him in a glare.

"Do you recon he followed us?" James, whose messy hair had somehow been tidied by the wind, ignored his friend's comment and proceeded to peer out through the trees towards the lake.

The other shrugged but continued to glare at James, "He's probably gone to rat on us to a teacher. We'll probably get detention _again_."

"Oh…don't be so serious, _Sirius_." James turned his gaze from the lake to his friend and grinned. Sirius' glare only grew darker. "Come on, he's such a know-it-all and a teacher's pet, it's about time someone put him in his place." James flopped down on the roots of Sirius' tree, still grinning from ear to ear.

Folding his arms, Sirius slid down to join James on the floor of the woods, a smile creeping over his face. "I suppose it was kind of amusing. You totally did take him by surprise." He paused briefly before turning to look at James once more. "How'd you even get him to hang from a tree though? It's not any spell we studied in class before."

"I have my ways." James replied in a shady voice, diverting his eyes upwards with a mischievous grin on his face.

Sirius followed, looking up at the tiny amount of sunlight which danced through the tops of the trees. The two boys sat in silence for a few more minutes before James spoke up once more. "I can't stand that kid though, seriously. I really hate that _Remus Lupin_."

Remus shifted his weight on to the other foot as he leaned against the post of his bed. Although it was already growing dark outside, the first year dorm was empty. The window beside him was cracked open and he could make out cheers coming from the Quidditch Pitch.

 _"Greengrass scores for Slytherin!"_ Astraeus Greengrass, a notorious final year Slytherin chaser. Remus didn't know much about him; however, it was difficult to miss such a loud person around the castle, especially when he was almost always followed by a dozen screeching girls. The alarm on his watch went off with a small jingle and Remus was reminded that if he wanted to slip out of the castle without being noticed by any Students, he would have to leave within the next couple of minutes. With a short sigh, Remus picked up the small travel bag his mother had given him the previous year and made his way quietly out of the dormitory.

He made his way through the silent corridors of the castle, nodding in acknowledgement to the few ghosts which passed him and stopped to give Mrs Norris a short stroke on the head, (that cat had always liked him for some reason.) After a few more minutes, he had made his way out of the castle and began to head past the lake and towards the forest. An array of lights were being turned on inside the castle, as the whole of Hogwarts began to pour in from the Quidditch Pitch. Remus wondered which side had won. He wasn't much of a fan of the sport, but it was always good to know, so he could pretend later that he had been at the game all along.

The whomping willow loomed in front of him, thrashing its branches around in a desperate attempt to rid itself of small animals which were attempting to find shelter. Pulling his bag further up his shoulder, Remus bent down and picked up a weighty-looking stick. Taking aim he threw it directly at one of the larger knots of roots at the base of the tree. Immediately the tree became silent and Remus ducked the heavy branches in an attempt to get to the trapdoor. A sudden crack beneath his feet brought him to a stop. From underneath he could see the cracked glass of what appeared to be a small mirror. Scooping it up carefully, he quickly slipped down into the secret passageway as the tree gradually came back to life.

Although cracked, the mirror was still holding together, and Remus turned it over in his hands several times as he made his way across to his lodging for the night. Climbing the final staircase, unbeknown to the locals, Remus entered the abandoned house on the outskirts of Hogsmede. Tossing his bag to one side, he flopped down onto the bed which Professor Dumbledore had so kindly put in place for him and held the mirror up at arm's reach. After a few more moments, the mirror too was tossed aside, coming to rest under a pile of torn clothes. As the moon began to appear between the clouds, Remus curled up into a ball, willing the morning to come quickly.

Back in the castle, after Gryffindor's defeat by Slytherin, Sirius Black sat alone in the Gryffindor Common Room accompanied only by the flickering fire place. He turned over a small mirror in his hands.


	2. Part Two

One month had almost past since the night when Sirius had watched Remus make his way to an abandoned building. Remus had only inspected the broken mirror a handful of times since that night, and each time he had been within the grounds of the castle, appearing to live a normal student life. For the rest, Remus kept the mirror at the bottom of his trunk, only occasionally pondering where it had come from and who it belonged to.

"Oi, Lupin! You're in the way!" James Potter yelled, pushing rudely past Remus to get into the Gryffindor common room. Remus shot him a glare, but Potter was already up the staircase which lead to the boys' dormitory. Not wanting to join him in the dormitory, Remus entered through the portrait hole and found an empty table next to an open window to sit at. Pulling out his copy of 'Creatures of the Night', Remus sighed as opened it to the chapter covering Werewolves. He was not looking forward to writing an essay essentially about himself.

The dormitory door slammed open and James Potter marched inside, taking Sirius Black by enough surprise that he accidentally poured the liquid contents of a small phial on the carpeted floor. In front of him bubbled a tiny cauldron which nestled over a small flame in a jar. Angrily Sirius looked up from the floor at James. "Why'd you do that?! Now I have to get some more from Slughorn's cupboard! It was hard enough the first time with that Evan's girl loitering around the door." He pulled out his wand and doused the stained carpet with strong-smelling bleach.

"Sirius, you can't just brew it there! Anyone could walk in!" James attempted to shout in a hushed tone and he scurried forward and peered into the potion which was now at a simmer.

Sirius folded his arms, continuing to look up at his friend. "Where else am I supposed to do it? We could get caught anywhere. And besides, it's not like the teachers or prefects ever come here." While he was speaking, James opened the cupboard nearest to his bed and gestured at the empty top shelf. "At least put it in here while it's just simmering away. The idea of you storing fire under your bed doesn't help me sleep at night." Sirius supposed James had a point here at least, and muttered "Okay. Fine." While he scooped up the flame and cauldron carefully with magic and levitated it into the cupboard, like James had suggested.

"Don't worry about that, either." James said, pointing at the empty phial left on the floor. "I'll go and get it this time." He grinned, closing the cupboard door carefully behind him. "I suppose it's soon time to test it out, right?"

A mischievous grin spread across Sirius' face now too, and he nodded. "Just need to decide whose hair to take now." The room filled with an air of excitement.

That night Remus awoke to the sound of a 'hiss' followed by a small 'pop' escaping from somewhere within the room. After a few moments of silence, he rolled over in his bed and fell back asleep assuming he had only imagined the sound.

A few days later, the full month had come around and it was time for Remus to make his escape once more. Packing his necessities into the small travel bag during the light of early morning, he made his way down to the great hall for breakfast. As he travelled down the length of the Gryffindor table, he over-heard some girls gossiping about Lily Evans. Remus knew Lily, although they weren't friends as per-se, he thought very kindly of her. She was an exceptionally talented witch, often he would bump into her studying in the library. Her opinion on werewolves and their nature "not being their fault" sat also well with him.

"Archibald Bulstrode caught her letting Cornish pixies free in Professor Wood's office. The nasty little buggers broke his prized Quidditch cup." The tallest girl was telling her friends.

"Which one?" A small, plump girl responded with slightly too much excitement in her voice.

Turning to face her, the tall girl responded with raised eyebrows, "Let's just say, it wasn't a Hogwarts cup Janine."

Scratching his head a little, Remus continued to search for an empty seat, which wasn't surrounded by people he disliked, at the table. That certainly didn't _sound_ like a thing Lily Evans would do, but then, he didn't _really_ know her. Drawing up a chair next to Frank Longbottom, a couple of years his senior, Remus took his seat at the table, his mind still considering Lily Evans. "Wotcha Remus." Frank held up his hand briefly in a greeting. "You look a bit troubled, anything the matter? If it's that Potter kid again, I can sort 'im out for ya."

Remus just shook his head and smiled. "Nah, it's nothing. But thanks for asking." He leant across the table and helped himself to a fresh croissant. Just as he was about to ask Frank to pass over the jam, Lily Evans stumbled into the hall, making a beeline for Remus; or so he thought until she came to a halt a few seats down, by what appeared to be a group of her friends. "Professor Wood gave me detention for a month for destroying his office! It wasn't me!" She sobbed, lowering her head onto the table as one of her friends patted her shoulder gently.

"Ah~ what a nice day to fly!" James Potter exclaimed joyfully to the class, placing his hands behind his head whilst he flew in and out of the other students, all of whom were desperately trying to stay balanced on their broomsticks with both hands tightly gripping their handles. "Life is fun, right!" He winked at Lily Evans as their flight paths crossed.


End file.
